


The Aster in the middle of my White Roses bouquet

by cottoncandyboys (mik0rin)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Catboy!Tao, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 13:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9236474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mik0rin/pseuds/cottoncandyboys
Summary: In among flowers, Zitao discovers what’s actually important for him. Catboy!AU





	

**Author's Note:**

> also written for minseokfull back in 2014

"Thank you so much, Minseok," Chanyeol says, bowing thankfully to his friend and, fortunately, neighbor. "I've got to run, my flight is in less than two hours, there's a paper with instructions at the table located in the living room. Everything will be okay, everything will be okay."

A taxi cab stops in front of the house and Chanyeol darts out, leaving Minseok behind.

"Busy kid," Minseok mutters and shakes his head before stepping foot inside the house, Chanyeol was obviously saying those last lines for himself. It must be something important and of short notice - since he travels almost every month -, because Chanyeol never asked Minseok to take care of Zitao, until now. "Where's Zitao?"

Minseok passes next to the kitchen and walks up to the rooms instead of the living room, calling out Zitao's name. He'd been Chanyeol's senior back in college, but he decided to take care of the flower shop his family owns while Chanyeol became a successful businessman.

But Chanyeol forgot to introduce Minseok to Zitao and Zitao to Minseok even though they’re long time friends.

_Busy, busy, busy._

Minseok is the one who'll have to do it himself, at least if he manages to find him.

He excuses himself when he turns the doorknob for Chanyeol's bedroom - though, the owner of the house is not here anymore, maybe Zitao cares about it and Minseok doesn't want to be rude - and he hears a shuffling sound coming from it.

"Zitao?" Minseok slowly enters the place, Chanyeol _really_ was in a rush, almost everything is out of place, especially Chanyeol's clothes. "Zitao, are you here? Zitao?"

Minseok checks the wardrobe. Nothing.

Under the bed. Still nothing.

Behind the curtains-

There's a black tail peeking out of it. Minseok laughs, if Zitao thought that there would be a good place to hide, he'd have covered his whole body and closed the window, the cloth is white and the day is sunny, the rays of light are giving out his location by the silhouette of his body.

He nears the hybrid and Minseok notices how Zitao's body becomes rigid, evident fear and, before Minseok can surprise him by putting the curtain aside, Zitao shoves it away and hisses.

Minseok looks unaffected by his actions and Zitao covers his face with his hands before jumping on top of the messy bed, embarrassed.

"Zitao," Minseok says and pokes his sides, trying to make the boy move, Zitao looks at him from his current position and pouts, abruptly turning his body and taking a sitting position. "Let's gather your belongings, stop by my house and go to work."

"Work?" Zitao whispers and Minseok nods, taking him by the arm and pulling Zitao to the living room, easily finding the instructions Chanyeol mentioned and unfolding it quickly.

_Zitao's clothes and everything else are in the bag resting against the couch, he doesn't give too many problems, if you need to know anything, ask Zitao, he's always right. Thank you for helping me!_

Minseok concludes that Chanyeol's instructions are pretty much useless. He folds it back and keeps it safely inside his pocket, though.

_What did I put myself into?_

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

"Why do I have to go to your house and stay with you for a whole month?" Zitao asks softly and stares at Minseok's face, they're already at the flower shop and Minseok forced Zitao to wear an apron just like him, going against protests of _why is this so ugly and ridiculous?_

"Didn't Chanyeol tell you already?" Minseok huffs and wraps a bunch of white roses together.

"Of course he did," Zitao replies, blinking his eyes quickly. "But he always leaves me at the hotel."

"Why would you even hide then?" Minseok questions with the raise of an eyebrow.

"I thought that if you didn't find me, you'd leave." Zitao pouts and rests his forehead on his arm that is right on the counter.

"Silly cat," Minseok shakes his head and takes a new vase of flowers, cutting the end of the stalk and placing them back into it. “You’d probably die of hunger.”

“I know how to take care of myself,” Zitao replies with his muffled voice, refusing to raise his head again. “You should let me go back to my house.”

“Do you know how to get there?” Minseok waters some of the flowers next to Zitao and brushes against his back, Zitao jumps back to his normal position and looks at Minseok, opening his mouth, but closing it after a few seconds. “See? You’d get lost and cold and them, hungry, I don’t think you’d like that. Not to count that you’d also get sweaty.”

“Stop!” Zitao brings his hands to his face and sighs. “Okay, okay, you win. Please stop scaring me like this.”

“Good cat.” Minseok puts his watering can at the side of one of the vases and pats Zitao’s dark hair.

Zitao hisses.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Seriously, how did you and Chanyeol even manage to make this huge amount of clothes fit into that backpack?” Minseok points at the bag lying on the floor and Zitao shrugs.

“Magic, maybe, who knows.” Minseok shakes his head at Zitao’s words and rummages through all the clothes on top of his bed, Zitao complains. _Why do you need to do this? Stop touching my things._

“You little,” Minseok stops for a moment and looks at his bed. “Why are we doing this here?”

“Well, I’m sleeping here.”

“Zitao, why do you think I put covers and a pillow on top of my couch?” Minseok asks, brushing his hair away from his face and sighing, staring at Zitao and Zitao staring back at him.

“Of course it’s for you to be comfortable when sleeping,” Zitao replies and folds his clothes quickly, accommodating them in a little free space on Minseok’s wardrobe. “I don’t think you’d like to get sick at your own house.”

“Zitao,” Minseok mutters under his breath and Zitao freezes, a murdering glare takes control of Minseok’s facial features and Zitao opens his mouth to say something, but just like before, he closes it without saying a word. “No, you’re the one using the couch.”

“I’m just agreeing to this because you’re the owner of the house and Chanyeol is not paying you to take care of me.” Minseok nods and pats Zitao’s head again. Zitao slaps his hand away and hisses, brushing the soft strands of hair with his fingers. “Do _not_ do this again, or I’ll claw your hands until it falls.”

“You give up so easily,” Minseok says amused. “If you have begged just a little more, I think I’d have let you use my bed instead of the couch.”

Zitao aims a pillow towards his head.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Zitao?” Minseok asks while he’s at the kitchen, washing some dishes from yesterday - he was just too lazy to do it sooner.

The catboy grumbles in response from his current position at that said couch, disinterested.

“Do you like pizza?”

“Not really?”

“What flavour would you like me to order?” Minseok asks again without looking at Zitao, washing the last cup and drying his hands on the dishcloth.

“I said _I don’t really like it_ , -”

“Minseok,” Minseok says his name and Zitao stares at him, unamused. “I thought Chanyeol also said my name to you.”

“He did, but I was waiting until now for you to tell it to me yourself, hallelujah.” Zitao turns his body and looks directly at Minseok, smiling and waving his tail from side to side.

“Oh,” Minseok’s grin drops a little, but his smile comes back in a heartbeat. “What do you like to eat them?”

“I don’t know, sushi?” Zitao searches in his memory and the first thing that comes in mind is probably what he says.

“Is tofu okay then?” Minseok searches on his fridge, finding a pot of kimchi, two tomatoes and the tofu he mentioned.

“I said sushi….” Zitao replies, getting up from where he is and walking up to Minseok. “But I suppose I like tofu too.’

“Want tuna too?”

Zitao’s ears twitch excitedly.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

Different from what Minseok expected, sharing his house with someone else isn’t that bad after all, especially since Zitao doesn’t throw his belongings around and he goes to work with Minseok, so there’s no reason or time for him to ruin his property. Everything is in place, one less thing for Minseok to worry.

The flower shop is not much of a popular establishment, it’s peaceful, there are only a few dates in which it explodes with customers and the most popular is usually Valentine’s Day, others are anniversaries or just someone coming to buy something to give for their date.

Today is one of those quiet days, with only Minseok watering the flowers and Zitao sitting somewhere else, just watching. Different from what Chanyeol said ( _Everything will be okay_ ), Minseok is actually having a nice time with Zitao - aside from him being a little brat every once in a while. He has company.

Zitao is actually pretty lazy, unlike what Minseok said on the first day, Zitao ended up sleeping on his bed and he’s using the couch (‘ _it’s comfortable, I swear_ ’). This means that he doesn’t really give too much work, which is a blessing, on Minseok’s opinion.

“Zitao,” Minseok calls when he’s done, trying to make conversation and Zitao looks as bored as Minseok is at days like these. “Do you catboys still……….?”

“What?” Zitao asks looking away from what he was staring at and turns to stare at Minseok instead.

“You know….” Minseok moves his hands up and down with a troubled face, trying to say something while Zitao makes a face at him, until he widens his eyes and shakes his head.

“No, no, no, you mean, the _in heat_ thing? We’re not in 2014 anymore, Chanyeol has money and he buys me special medicine for that, it’s like castrating but you’re the one controlling it, plus, Chanyeol doesn’t have time for that like some others does,” Zitao hides his face with the hem of the apron he’s wearing and Minseok wonders if it was a little obtrusive of him for asking. “You don’t need to worry about it, okay? You don’t need to touch me, it’d make things awkward and I like the way it is right now, I heard it hurts and I don’t like pain.”

“I can see that,” Minseok jokes to ease the atmosphere, but Zitao really looks like the type that’d run away from everything that can cause him pain and discomfort. “Tomorrow is Saturday.”

“And?” Zitao asks curious.

“This means we open earlier,” Zitao groans and pretends to bang his head against the nearest wall. “But it also means that we close earlier.”

Minseok sing songs his last words and runs to his position behind the counter, finding a magazine to flip through while nobody appears.

Zitao groans to himself.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“It’s six in the morning,” Zitao is currently being pushed inside the shop by Minseok, covering his eyes because the sun is already shining bright and he was basically forced out of bed. “Why do I need to come with you to work? It’s _your_ job, not mine.”

“Working is good,” Minseok says jabbing a finger on Zitao’s ribs and throwing that same apron at him. “Beside, what would you even do alone in my house?”

“Sleep?” Zitao says it like it’s the most obvious answer ever - which is actually true, but Minseok pushes it aside.

“Well, you can go back home if you want, but you’ll only have eggplant to eat, I didn’t go grocery shopping since you came,” Minseok gestures for him to just sit and wait until it’s time to leave. “I’ll go and buy something to eat later and I was hoping you’d accompany me.”

“You depend on me so much,” Zitao huffs with a roll of his eyes. “What do I win by following your orders?”

“A roof, food and my company,” Minseok says, he’s already working with his beloved flowers, cutting the withered ones off and he doesn’t notice Zitao making a face at him. “I’m joking, I can,” he adds and looks around. “I can teach you about flowers.”

“That’s boring,” Zitao complains and drops his head on the counter, wishing for the day to end soon, he just wants to go back home and claw at Chanyeol’s furniture on purpose. “Don’t mind me here, just do your work.”

Minseok notices how Zitao is down, he wishes he could do something for him, but nothing comes in mind, so he just drops it, turning his back and going back to his work, just like said.

Zitao sighs and closes his eyes.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Aren’t you glad that you decided to stay?” Minseok moves his feet back and forth under the table, using his chopsticks and drinking his tea every once in a while.

“Maybe.” Zitao whispers and stuffs his mouth with all the udon he can fit into it.

“What’s your opinion about ice cream?” Minseok asks as he finishes his bowl and sets his chopsticks aside.

“It’s cold?” Zitao replies, a little troubled.

“No,” Minseok hits his forehead with his hand and sighs. “I mean-”

“Excuse you, if you want to know if I like it, you have to _ask_ if I like it or not and not what I think about it, because I think it _is_ cold.” Minseok closes his mouth and just remains quiet, blowing air on his fringe and puffing his cheeks, waiting for Zitao to finish his meal, so they can decide what to do later, hopefully it’ll be ice cream, like he wanted.

Zitao hides his smirk from Minseok’s dejected eyes.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

Pretty much for Minseok’s distaste, Zitao’s sarcastic remarks grow with time. From that little comment on how that stupid steamed bun looked like him, one of Chanyeol’s old jokes back from college that he probably told Zitao, to him having a comeback to every single thing.

( _”The flowers smell weird.”_

_“But they’re flowers.”_

_“Flowers smell weird.”_

_“They don’t.”_

_“You smell weird.”_ )

But after a while, his offer to teach him a little about flowers is accepted due to the lack of what to do and he shows Zitao a small old book his mother gave him a few years ago, it’s not long and it’s also illustrated, great for kids or bored catboys.

That’s how Zitao distracts himself while Minseok serves customers, taking their orders and thankfully, this week, he got a large order to make arrangements for a wedding.

“Do you think Chanyeol will arrive soon?” Zitao asks Minseok when he’s working with the scheduler, totally out of the blue, taking a few minutes for Minseok to reply due to his concentration directed to his work.

“I don’t know,” Minseok replies, not averting his eyes from the paper and not releasing the pen he’s holding. “Maybe in less than two weeks.”

Zitao hums and Minseok wonders if he really wants to leave his house as soon as possible.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Do you know what the bells of Ireland mean?” Zitao asks Minseok, he had been doing this frequently, asking him questions about flowers like he’s really interested, Minseok hopes that he is, because the flowers mean a lot to him and it’d be great if he managed to make someone love them as much as he does.

“Good luck.”

“They’re weird, what’s their purpose?” Zitao stares at Minseok, confused at only the green he’s seeing at the picture.

“They have small white or pink flowers, it’s a little hard to see in the illustration, and they also have a soft fragrance, the yellow-green is pretty vivid and it highlights the colour of other flowers well, they’re popular in wedding arrangements, wreaths, baskets, crosses or garlands. They’re a fit for almost everything,” Minseok explains and leaves the counter, walking to the right and taking a few flowers in his hands and quickly coming back to where he was previously. Taking the nearest vase, Minseok sets everything aside and takes a few roses he brought with him, along with a branch of lavender, a few carnations of different colours and those said bells of Ireland. Trying to put them together until he’s fully satisfied with his work, it takes a few minutes and Zitao curiously observes what Minseok is doing, trying to sneak a peek at it, since Minseok is blocking his view.

It doesn’t take long and, soon enough, Minseok steps out of the way and points to the vase, happily.

“See?”

Zitao looks mesmerized at how the flowers look like when they’re put together, perfectly.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Zitao?” Minseok calls out and walks up to the living room, finding Zitao seated on the couch, flipping through a magazine, totally immersed on what he’s looking at. “Chanyeol called, he told me he’s coming back home tomorrow. Sooner than expected, isn’t it great?”

Zitao averts his eyes from his readings and looks up, searching for Minseok, opening his mouth, but he doesn’t say a single thing.

“Don’t you think?” Minseok asks, a little worried at the lack of words coming from Zitao, who always has something to say.

“I think so.” he says after a while and goes back to the magazine. Minseok tries to see what he’s reading, _Gardening_ , oh, at least he’s interested in something.

He exits the place and goes to the garden, the magazine just reminded him that he has to take care of his own backyard.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“What do you want for dinner?” Minseok asks Zitao who’s still distracted. Today is Sunday, which means they stayed at home, doing absolutely nothing, Zitao reading and Minseok getting his clothes and hands dirty with soil.

“Pizza? I don’t know.” Zitao replies quickly and yawns. Minseok doesn’t question, even though he clearly remembers that Zitao mentioned not liking pizza before.

When he’s already covered up with blankets, Minseok notices how Zitao is still awake - due to him quietly sneaking out of the room to get a glass of water -, which is quite odd, counting that Zitao is always the first one to fall asleep.

Minseok takes a little longer to fall asleep, worried about something that he’s not sure that is even happening.

 

＾ㅇㅅㅇ＾

“Today is your last day at the flower shop. Chanyeol will be back at night.” Minseok told Zitao when they were already at work, Zitao offered to water the flowers and Minseok thanked him, now he’s at the back of the store to take care of that same order for a wedding, choosing the colours and checking the notes that the customers left with preferences.

He whistles a soft tune while working with what he likes the most. The arrangements are supposed to be delivered until the end of the day, apparently, the wedding is tomorrow - in the middle of the week, Minseok thought it was a weird date to be chosen, but that’s not up to him -, he’s lucky that he’s quick, it’ll be done in no time.

Minseok brushes his hair away from his face, sighing, everything is finished and the men in charge are already carrying the flowers to a van, the customer pays him and waves, Minseok waves back, his job is all done and he can already go home.

He looks around, now that he stops to think about it, where’s Zitao?

Minseok looks around the shop, there’s a note on top of the counter with a neat handwriting.

_I went home, there was nothing for me to do, besides, I still need to pack and no, I did not get lost, I know that your house is less than two blocks away from the flower shop. I took the liberty to get your keys, I hope you won’t mind. Zitao._

Minseok sighs, he forgot about Chanyeol coming back today because of how busy he was a few hours ago.

He checks everything before closing the shop - a few flowers were missing, strange -, walking back home with light footsteps, Zitao is finally getting what he wanted since the beginning.

It doesn’t even take five minutes until he’s home, cleaning his shoes before stepping inside the place. He calls out Zitao’s name and gets nothing in response. He notices a bouquet placed inside one of his vases in the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room, which is even stranger than Zitao not replying, he doesn’t remember putting anything there.

He nears it, looking around and still not finding the catboy.

The bouquet is a mess, he sights one sample of different types of flowers: a red carnation, a bright yellow daffodil, a purple gloxinia, a red tulip, everything surrounded by three red roses and a few bells of Ireland. Minseok laughs when he gets the meaning, but it fades quickly. He also notices a small note in the middle of it.

_I’m sorry._

Minseok drops the card and looks around his house, trying to find Zitao, he finally gets a few of Zitao’s actions, from his tail hanging low for the past few days to how his ears would twitch so easily at the mention of his owner and coming back home.

He finds a covered pile on top of his bed and he lets out a sigh of relief and amusement.

“Zitao, I know you’re there.” Minseok announces and, just like the first day, Zitao’s body turns rigid, he looks like a rock in the middle of a road, and, just when Minseok nears him, Zitao jumps out of it, hissing lowly and sitting up.

“Sorry,” Zitao chuckles lightly, staring at Minseok when he’s done with laughing to himself, kicking the covers away and getting up. “I came back and forgot to pack.”

Zitao whispers something, inaudible and Minseok tries his best to catch a few words, but he doesn’t, it’s hard when Zitao’s voice is so soft and he’s not that near him.

“Zitao?” Minseok breaks the distance between them little by little. “Did you say something?”

“I didn’t really want to leave,” Zitao repeats louder, licking his lips and gulping, folding the blanket to distract himself. “You know why, don’t make me repeat.”

“Thank you for the flowers,” Minseok says and takes the blankets out Zitao’s hands, finishing the folding process faster, putting them on his bed and hugging Zitao. “Thank you.”

Minseok can feel Zitao’s body trembling slightly - or he’s just purring out of happiness, because if Minseok could, he would as well -, the doorbell rings and Zitao jumps, his tail that was bouncing from side to side, stops moving, falling to its previous place and Minseok coughs, running a hand through his hair and making his way to the living room.

“Hello, Chanyeol,” Minseok greets with a smile when he opens the door. “I hope you had a safe trip.”

“I did! Thank you, Beijing was great, though, I went for work not for a nice travel, I managed to get out of the hotel a few times to eat something different,” Chanyeol says and gives Minseok a hug, releasing him right after, taking his hand and giving him a paper bag. “Got you something. Did Zitao behave? Didn’t I tell you how he’s always quiet and a great company before?”

“Yes and thank you,” Minseok replies and opens the bag. “Oh, you got me food? Jesus, how much Xian Bing did you even buy?”

“Enough for the three of us to eat now,” Chanyeol grins from ear to ear, Minseok lets him in and Chanyeol looks around. “Oh, Zitao, there you are.”

Zitao tip toes all the way to Chanyeol and Chanyeol laughs, patting his head when he’s at his reach and Zitao’s flinch goes unnoticed.

“Do you miss home?” Chanyeol asks and Zitao shakes his head, Chanyeol stares and him for a few seconds with a blank expression, but he ends up chuckling when he looks at Zitao, who’s currently staring at Minseok. “Ohh, I see~.”

“We’re neighbors,” Zitao says and looks at Chanyeol. “I still want to make you company, but can I visit Minseok often? Also, Chanyeol, what do you think about me, helping Minseok at the flower shop? Can I?”

Zitao looks at Chanyeol, then at Minseok, hope in his eyes and both nod at him.

“Shush, you still have to finish packing, let’s finish it and then we can eat the Xian Bing Chanyeol brought with him.” Minseok says and takes Zitao by the arm, pulling the catboy back to the room with him.

Chanyeol takes a seat at the couch and looks around Minseok’s house while they’re trying to finish packing, he laughs at the carnival that is that vase of flowers a few meters away from him.

“You really want to work at the flower shop?” Minseok asks Zitao when they’re quietly folding Zitao’s ridiculous amount of clothing and, just like a miracle, they manage to zip it with no major struggles.

“Yes,” Zitao replies, firmly. “If it means me being next to you and being useful, I’d love to.”

Minseok softly places a kiss to Zitao’s lips, holding the back of his neck, tiptoeing and managing to make Zitao blush and stutter randomly when he departs.

“Let’s go! Or Chanyeol will think suspiciously of us.”

Zitao shakes his head, trying to get that blush away from his cheeks, taking his backpack and rushing to Minseok’s side.

When they reach the living room, Chanyeol is not on the couch anymore, he’s at the kitchen, taking three plates out of the cabinet and placing them, along with cups, on top of the dining table.

“Nice flower arrangement you have there.” Chanyeol points to the counter and smiles.

“I know,” Minseok replies and takes a seat, Zitao follows his steps and sits by his side, smiling. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't include the meaning of the flowers in the middle of the story because it'd be unnecessary information into it. So I'm going to put their meaning here, along with pictures of how they look like C:
> 
> ❋[Red carnation: My Heart Aches for You; Admiration.](http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34600000/Beautiful-Red-Carnation-colors-34691879-550-413.jpg)  
> ❋[Yellow daffodil: Regard; Unrequited Love; You're the Only One; The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with You](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GL-zWOs-zvs/TYKylCiqOUI/AAAAAAAAFiE/ngMDqa1A410/s400/Group%2Bof%2BYellow%2BDaffodils%2Bwith%2Borange%2Bcups.jpg)  
> ❋[Purple gloxinia: Love at First Sight](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/bc/b4/34/bcb4345fd32af68bb14c7ac7d9b17e88.jpg)  
> ❋[Red tulip: Believe Me; Declaration of Love](http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000tpeouzO4Ay0/s/850/680/FL14-Red-Tulip-Fields.jpg)  
> ❋[Red rose: Love, Respect](http://www.expressioncoffins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RED-ROSES.jpg)  
> ❋[Bell of Ireland: Good luck](http://higgledygarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/022.jpg)


End file.
